1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for upgrading existing personnel control systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to replacing the interface units of existing personnel control units with a biometric interface capable of outputting a signal compatible with the format of the currently installed personnel control system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Increasingly, security problems are becoming a more noticeable part of modern life. Security was once primarily the preserve of classified government installations, but increasing losses and calamity have forced the review of security equipment and procedures for government and industry. Cargo losses and the theft of corporate secrets cost industry billions of dollars annually. Public safety is endangered by the ability of intruders to access secured places, such as aircraft and airport buildings.
Personnel control and personal identification are daily problems, and continue to be the object of significant expenditures by organizations needing to identify employees, vendors, etc., who are to be allowed access to the secured areas. Typical personnel control applications include: computer center; radioactive or biological danger areas; controlled experiments; information storage areas; airport maintenance and freight areas; hospital closed areas and drug storage areas; apartment houses and office buildings; manufacturing facilities and construction sites; safety deposit boxes and vaults; and computer terminal entry and access to information.
Obtaining an individual's identity is a common problem in any access control application. Many existing personnel control applications establish a person's identity using a personal identification code or a card having encoded identification information. More recently, in order to increase security, some organizations are installing biometric devices with personnel control capabilities. These devices electronically scan a personal physical characteristic of an individual, such as a portion of the epidermis or human eye. After scanning a personal physical characteristic, these devices generate a pattern which is compared against a library of patterns that identifies the individuals permitted access to a controlled area.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,581,282 discloses a palm print identification system. In one example, a number code, encoded on an I.D. card, uniquely identifies a palm of an individual. The system reads the I.D. card and the actual palm of the individual. The number code is used as an index to retrieve a stored palm print pattern. Then, the stored palm print pattern is compared to the fresh palm print pattern to verify the identity of the individual.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,899 discloses a fingerprint-based personnel control and identification apparatus. The apparatus reads a human fingerprint and transmits an electronic representation of the fingerprint to a centralized image processing unit. The centralized image processing unit determines access to certain areas, terminals or doors based on the specific fingerprint read.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,043 discloses a personnel control system using data stored in the form of a barcode. A fingerprint pattern of the keyholder is stored in the form of a barcode on the key. After the key is placed on the keyway of a terminal at a personnel control point and read, the keyholder may then be prompted to place a finger against the fingerprint reader. The fingerprint is scanned and compared at the access control point terminal with the key encoded information. If a match is made, the personnel control point decision and the keyholder identifying code are sent to a remote central processor or host computer. The central processor determines whether a keyholder is permitted to access a particular area at the particular time that the card is read. A signal indicating that access is granted or denied is sent to the terminal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,145 provides an apparatus which scans a fingerprint and provides positive confirmation of an individual's identity at a particular location at a particular time. The terminal utilizes fingerprint scanners with magnetic cardreaders to reduce fraud in credit card transactions by sending the scanned card and fingerprint to a credit verification company.
All these new biometric devices are not compatible with the presently installed personnel control devices which establish a person's identity utilizing a personal identification code or encoded card. Often, presently installed devices must be deactivated or removed, which adds to the expense of installing a new control access system. Therefore, there is a need for an inexpensive biometric interface device to upgrade existing personnel control units.